Four asteroids named after prolific Catholic nun astronomers

Monday, October 7th, 2024

The Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union announced the names of many new asteroids this summer, and four nuns deserved recognition among the stars.

They are Sister Emilia Ponzoni (1883-1950), Sister Regina Colombo (1885-1953), Sister Concetta Finardi (1896-1975), and Sister Luigia Panceri (1893-1982), with the first two announced in the June bulletin and the second two announced in the September one.

Before electronic computers and citizen scientists helped classify stars, there were women. Harvard had the “computers” – a team of skilled workers who produced some of the most incredible insights into astronomy. Among them, Henrietta Swan Leavitt realised how to calculate the distance to Cepheid variables, which led to the discovery of extragalactic objects and the expansion of the Universe.

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